The present invention relates to the field of the depollution of cold cathodes.
A cold cathode is an electronic tube, vacuum tube or gas tube, comprising an envelope generally in glass or in ceramic and in which the pressure is lower than the atmospheric pressure; and at least one connector, secured to the envelope, and comprising typically electrodes and a cap or a holder.
For brevity sake, only one example will be cited here, that of a CCFL backlight tube within the framework of the dismantling of a flat screen, in particular LCD, at end-of-life. However, the invention can be more generally applicable to any fluorescent or neon lamp.
By convention, a cold cathode is hereinafter called “lamp”.
The problem of cold cathodes is that they comprise pollutant materials, for example mercury, which is a hazardous waste and must be subject to a specific treatment so as not to be released into the atmosphere.
In order to treat a flat screen at end-of-life, there are currently three major types of dismantling:
The grinding solutions with depollution treatment of the vapor and ground elements.
Nevertheless, these solutions require heavy and expensive treatments.
The entirely manual dismantling solutions, where operators dismantle the screens with more or less ergonomic tools and equipments.
Nevertheless, these solutions are very lengthy, manual and economically nonviable.
The automated or semi-automated solutions involving technologies ensuring the dismantling without screen pollution (that is to say, no breakage of the slab, in particular LCD, or of the lamps).
One embodiment of the invention relates to this type of solutions.
In this context, the existing solutions aim essentially at keeping the integrity of the lamps, which may require to give access to the connectors linking the lamps to the screen, as described for example in the application FR2974937.
Other hot-cutting techniques aim at affecting the integrity of the lamps, as also described for example in the application FR2974937 in the shape of thermal pinching. There is also a technique consisting of melting the glass of the lamp, as described for example in the application WO2012150422, particularly advantageous especially when the connectors linking the lamps to the screen are not, or little, or hardly accessible.